short fiction · 2026-10-07

Hiss as Breath (Third Echo)

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

The radiator's hiss is not just breath but a question: are you listening? In the half-light before dawn, the pipes answer with a groan, a low note that vibrates through the floorboards. I press my ear to the wall and feel the tremor, a shared pulse. The house exhales, I inhale, and for a moment the boundary between us is the thin plaster, vibrating with the same frequency. Outside, the world is still asleep; inside, two breaths keep time.